Wilmington probes 'laminate molding'
WILMINGTON, N.C. - Wilmington Machinery Inc. wants to improve the surface finish of parts made by structural foam molding, and the answer could be something called ``laminate molding.''
The company said placing a laminate on a utility junction box, interior automotive panel or recreational part could give the look designers want - pristine surfaces like those made using more costly, high-pressure injection molding.
The Wilmington-based equipment maker is running trials now, said Richard Morgan, business manager for injection molding. Options could include foils that provide a mirror or chrome look, films that give the appearance of a painted finish or fabrics and substrates like vinyls and leathers for automotive trim.
Wilmington Machinery is working with a team of experts: Incoe Corp., for its external gas molding process that helps join laminates to substrates; Printpack Inc., supplying films and foils; Tapecon Inc., for its polycarbonate sheet; and Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC for its substrate resins.
LRM-DuPont team explores technology
MIMS, FLA. - LRM Industries LLC of Mims is pairing with DuPont Co. of Wilmington, Del., in a joint venture to explore the use of LRM's Thermoplastic Flowforming technology.
Under the agreement, announced Aug. 8, they will find ways to use the compression molding technology for building and construction applications.
The process uses low-pressure, automated molding of long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic to make large structural parts with enhanced mechanical properties through the randomization and preservation of fiber length in molded parts.
Envirokare Composites Corp. of Orlando, Fla., and Nova Chemicals Corp. of Pittsburgh formed LRM as a joint venture earlier this year to commercialize TPF technology.
K-Tron named among fastest-growing firms
PITMAN. N.J. - Fortune Small Business Magazine ranked auxiliary equipment maker K-Tron International Inc. 69th on its list of the fastest-growing small public companies in America.
The ranking, published in the July/August issue, covers public companies with less than $200 million in annual sales.
Pitman-based K-Tron is traded on Nasdaq. It reported 2004 sales of $112.5 million. Fortune Small Business lists K-Tron's sales growth at an annual rate of 17.6 percent during the past three years.
K-Tron's earnings-per-share growth was 71.2 percent during the period.
The company's materials-handling equipment serves several industries, including plastics, food and coal. For plastics, K-Tron products include feeders, blenders and conveying systems.
Zeppelin Materials buys Germany's MHT
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, GERMANY - Zeppelin Silos & Systems GmbH has acquired the business of factory designer MHT Material Handling Technologies GmbH & Co. KG
Zeppelin of Friedrichshafen has placed MHT under its Zeppelin Materials Handling GmbH subsidiary. MHT, which employs 23, specializes in plastics plants that extrude PVC pipe, profiles, windows, cables, foils and floor covering.
Zeppelin designs plants for conveying, storing, blending and dosing of bulk solids, including plastic pallets or powder. The firm will retain MHT's main facilitry in Ludwigsburg.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Briefly ...
* Compounding extruder maker Berstorff GmbH of Hanover, Germany, has formally merged with its subsidiary that manufactures smoothing rolls, KMB Seide Technology GmbH. Berstorff will retain KMB's plant in Buchholz, Germany ... Youngstown, Ohio-based Spirex Corp. received the Governor's Excellence in Exporting Award for 2005 from Ohio Gov. Bob Taft. ... Fanuc Robotics America Inc. of Rochester Hills, Mich., and Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Robotic Production Technology Inc. have signed a new five-year agreement, keeping RPT as the exclusive user of Fanuc's articulating robots for RPT's router trimmers in North and South America. ... Framingham, Mass.-based Moldflow Corp. named Grand Rapids, Mich.-based custom injection molder Cascade Engineering Inc. a silver certified provider.